Upholstery fastener



Aug 13, 1957 L E ROY s. MEYER UPHOLSTERY FASTENER Filed May 3, 1955 Il 1l |NvEN-roR L'eaoy 5. MEV s 'BY l WK ATTORNEY United States Patent 2.802257 iroLsTE-RY FASTEER Le Roy'S-fMeyer,-Englewood, N. J. Appii'ction May3,=195"5;' seria-i sosns'si 8 Claims; ((El..4'5"=138)l Y The present inve'ritri rla'tefs'gene'lrallyto ari improved to employ t'ufting buttons", decorativeor otltielrvvis'ef..A The purpose of the tuftg'is to improve' the construction of tlie" upholstered furniture', as' well afs'4 t`o` nln'ceth'e .appeara'iiciev thereof.r In accordance theconve'vntionl tifting method, a long"doublepointedneedle" carrying a tiayine';` is 'passed' th'r'iigh the pad'dedor 'stlfed' portion of' the" section to be" 'tufted arid"returnedto substantially its p'iiit of entry. Thetwine is"br`o"ugli t' into' engagement with thepe`r`1" or closed' sliiik" eye of the tftingfbutt'on", tli'e'twinedrawii taut to elfectv thetfting, and then .knotted, tHeloSeends ofthe twine being snipped' toucornplete the' operationl This procedure isv tinte-consuming if'd'n'e properly, a'dfo efficient operation requires' the of'erpe'nsive and highly' skilled labor'. M'oreove'ii the r'es'iiltig'constrcfior'i possesses numfrosdis'advantages. The tufting-r twine." is often' frayed an'd" ultimately severed b"y` the eye sliankfof'thlt'fting button, thereby releasing'A thev tiffiiig and" tlie" tuft'n'g button and greatly impairing the appearance of the furniture. To replace the tufting and the tufting buttons lrequires the services of a skilled up'hblstere'r. Wli'er the' furnitureis reupholstered, the tuftingoperationmust be'v repeated. In addition, when slip covers are placed on the furniture, the tufting andthe' tftg-`l5iittons are ciripletelyfY hidden, thereby'U ge'tly" d'eactiig' fr tli'eIk appearance of" the prtjcularar'ficleor fritur: K

It "ist tirus' a principal" 'object' of' the'` present invention to provide an improved'uphol'stery device.

Another object of the present ,invention is to provide improved" constructonin" upholstered furniture;

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved device for effecting the tufting of upholstered furniture.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved device for securing tufting buttons or ornaments to upholstered furniture.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide an improved device for the tufting of furniture which may be quickly and simply applied and which is rugged and enduring.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved device for the tufting of furniture which permits the application of covers thereto which will assume the outline of the tufted surface.

Other and further objects of the present invention will in part become apparent and in part specifically pointed out in the following description of an illustrative embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of one form ICC of improved tufting device constructed a'ccordingt' andV embodying' thedevice' of the' present invention;l

AFigure 2 is a transverse, sectional view of the" applied to a sectionfof upholstered furniture, thetuftingf button and upholstery cover being shown in detached position by broken line; and

)Figure 3 i's a transverse, seconal view of the uphol# stery dress cover showing'a'n alternative forni of offen; ingoutlined by thread.

The present invention contemplates the provision' of:

tufting device comprising a stud element including a' headl portion and an elongated shank, locking r'n'eans1 adapted to engage 'said shank, a button element, and

separable fasteningI means adapted to releasabl'y se'c'urtli'eA button element tothe head portion of saidl stud element. The improved device is applied to upholstered furniture by passing the studshak through the from face of the base'coveringof an upholstered furniture section, th'rou'g'lv tliestuffingI therein and through the rear basey covering` of said sectionyto place the surrounding portion under' compression, applying the lock device to the' shank, api

plying an upholstery covering to the furniture, said covering` having an opening registering with Ithe stud" lead, and yfastening the button tothe' studv head wherebyy to releasably secure the covering thereto.

Inrthe drawing' annexed hereto and forming a part', hereof, numeral 10 generally designates anr elongated stud having a disc shaped head portion 12 and a rear'- Wardly longitudinal, axial shank .portion 14 which'wi'n:- cludes aforward section '16' tapering into an intermediate" sectionllofv reduced cross section which terminates inf' a pointed tip 20'; Head 12 has a recessy or well 22" formed" therein' which communicates witl' a tapped bore 24v coax'iallyformed in the' shank forward portion 16.

A. button 26 is provided which includes a cylindricalI head: 28j provided with a rearwardly projecting axial A conventional suitable locking' device'such as a" lockA plate or speed nut 32 is provided, which mates with` stud' shank 14' and is adapted to engage'a'ndlock thesaine tightly. Stud 10, as well as button core 26., may be' formed of any suitable'materal such a's'bras's, aluminum, steel, plastic',4 or the like, whereas the lock'plate`32 is preferably formed of "a hardened spring steeliri thwel'llriown'rnanner. y Y

In" Figure 2 of the drawing, the iniproved'tfting del vice is illustrated as applied to a section of upholstered furniture constructed in the conventional manner. The section includes a front pad 34 formed of cotton, felt or the like over a rear stuiiing material 36 formed of rubberized or natural hair, or any other suitable Vmaterial. The front face of the upholstered section is provided With a muslin covering 38 and the rear section is covered with a burlap webbing 40, all as is the usual practice. The shank of stud 10 is inserted into the upholstered section by passing the shank 14 thereof through muslin 38, pad 34, stuing 36, and the burlap webbing 40, pointed tip 20 facilitating the piercing of the various materials and layers, the tip 20 passing through and past the burlap backing 40 and being partially exposed. Lock plate 32 is then applied to the stud shank 14 and urged towards the head portion thereof to eiect therebetween the compression of the various layers in the vicinity of the stud 10 and to tuft same.

A plurality of studs 10 are applied as aforesaid in any desired pattern or arrangement to the upholstered article of furniture and thereafter an upholstery or dress covering 42 is applied in the conventional manner. The upholstery or dress covering 42 may be formed of fabric, leather, plastic or the like and is provided with a plurality of openings 44 spaced in accordance with the-pattern or arrangement of studs carried by the upholstered article and registering with the heads 12 thereof. Each of the circular openings 44 in the upholstery covering may, but need not necessarily be, reinforced by a suitable grommet 46. The upholstery covering is secured to the confronting face of the muslin covering 38 by passing threaded shanks 30 of buttons 26 through openings 44 in the dress covering into engagement with the tapped bores 24 of studs 10, and buttons 26 are tightly screwed thereinto, firmly locking the respective sections of the upholstery covering 42 to the associated stud heads 12 so that the upholstery covering assumes and closely follows the tufted appearance of the corresponding surface of the upholstered furniture article.

It should be noted that stud head recess 22 is of slightly greater diameter than the periphery of the grommet 46 so that the latter may nest in recess 22, as illustrated in the drawing. When ordinary sewing thread-outlined Openings 44 are used as desired, as shown in Figure 3, instead of grommets 44, the same nesting of the threaded marginal openings 45 in recess 22 may well be of advantage in reducing overall extension of the button and in insuring a tight fit. The upholstery buttons 26 may be easily replaced, as is apparent, merely by unscrewing one button and inserting another. Moreover, when a slip cover, constructed in accordance with the present invention, is applied to furniture, it may likewise be provided with openings as 44 or 44 arranged in the pattern of the studs 10. In such event, the buttons 26 are merely removed and are reinserted through the respective openings in the applied slip cover, which then will assume the tufted configuration of the furniture. It will be obvious that the illustrated construction and the improved tufting device may be employed in any type of upholstered lfurniture such as chairs, sofas, settees, couches and the like. The coverings so applied may be removed easily and quickly, for cleaning and replacement, as desired. Differently decorated buttons 26 may be used as desired, to achieve different effects, etc.

While there has been described and illustrated hereinabove a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is apparent that numerous alterations and omissions may be made without departing from the spirit thereof.

Having now described my invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An improved upholstered furniture construction comprising a pair of spaced webbings, a stutiing material disposed between said webbings, a plurality of spaced studs each having a head member abutting an outer face of one of said webbings and a shank portion passing through said stuffing and said webbings and engaged by a locking element abutting the outer face of the other of said webbings, said webbings and the interposed material in the vicinity being compacted by and between said stud heads and said locking elements, a covering superimposed upon one of said webbings and having openings therein registering with said stud heads, and a plurality of button elements each having a shank portion registering with a corresponding covering opening and releasably secured to a respective stud head.

2. An improved construction inaccordance with claim 1, wherein said studs have tapped axial bores formed therein communicating with said stud heads, and the shanks of said buttons are threaded releasably to engage said tapped bores.

3. An improved constluction in accordance with claim l, wherein the openings in said dress covering are outlined by and reinforced with grommets.

4. An improved construction in accordance with claim 3, wherein said stud heads have wells formed therein and said grommets nest in said corresponding wells.

5. An improved construction in accordance with claim l, wherein said stud Shanks are tapered to points at their ends opposite the head ends thereof.

6. An improved construction in accordance with claim l, wherein said buttons are provided with covers of a material similar to that of said covering.

7. An upholstery cover fastening device comprising a stud that is formed at one end to penetrate through the upholstery and formed at the other end with an enlarged head adapted to engage and lie against one side of the upholstery when the stud is thrust thereinto, an outwardly open recess in said stud head, a separable button member consisting of a head portion and a shank disposed in said recess, said shank and recess having cooperating formations for releasably securing them together, so that after the stud is thrust into the upholstery and said cover mountedon the upholstery the button member shank may be inserted through a suitable opening in the cover to be secured within said recess and said cover is clamped between the stud and button heads.

8. The fastening device defined in claim 7 wherein said stud recess and button shank are in threaded engagement in assembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 570,838 Bolton et a1. Nov. 3, 1896 575,157 Howeu Jan. 12, 1897 593,221 Howell Nov. 9, 1897 1,336,273 Buss Apr. 6, 1920 'FOREIGN PATENTS 6,955 Great Britain 1911 

